Welcome to the EAS Student Forum 2024 Technical University of Dublin Grangegorman Campus

Presenter:
Dr Marita Kerin Trinity College Dublin

Title:
A Pedagogy of Possibility: Lessons Learned from a Music - Physics Partnership

Abstract:
Establishing educational outreach partnerships between schools and communities is a core
principle of the Primary Curriculum Framework (GoI 2023). Links with civic spaces including
museums, art galleries, theatres, and science hubs are thought to offer benefits to pupils and
teachers by supporting scholarship, cultivating curiosity, and promoting lifelong learning. And
there are benefits too for those who facilitate such outreach ventures, particularly when they
invoke the expertise of undergraduate university students.

Designed to introduce primary school pupils and their teachers to the science of sound, or
acoustics, one such partnership, Quavers to Quadratics was conceived in 2014 between faculty
from Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, and The National Concert Hall ( NCH).
Based on an interdisciplinary co-teaching framework, the programme involves a research
relationship comprising a university lecturer in Music Education, one in Physics, and 20
undergraduate students, 10 each from Music Education and Physics. The venture also involves
the 500+ pupils who attend annually and their teachers. Although in operation now for over a
decade, the only constant partners are the steering committee – the two university lecturers,
and the NCH associates. Participating undergraduate students, pupils, and teachers who
change annually are encouraged to contribute to the ongoing development and refinement of
the project.

Previous research findings on the impact of the programme on (i) university undergraduates
(who act as facilitators) (ii) teachers, who attend with their classes and (iii) the pupils
themselves, prompted a closer consideration of the fundamental principles of a shared
pedagogy which has emerged organically over multiple iterations.

This presentation, a blend of instructive, collaborative, and participative strategies introduces

Quavers to Quadratics and invites you to probe the significance of current research findings.
Research questions include: What have musicians and scientists learned from teaching
together? Which pedagogies best support engagement in interdisciplinary informal- learning
situations? What are the essential elements of such pedagogies? How are such pedagogies
enacted? We will consider the emergence of an interdisciplinary informal learning approach or a
pedagogy of possibility. Together we will critique its main features and examine dimensions that
promote engagement, creativity, inquiry, and curiosity and ultimately offer opportunities for
transformed (or at least, multiple) perspectives for all invested parties.

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Welcome to the EAS Student Forum 2024 Technical University of Dublin Grangegorman Campus

To prepare for this session please consult some of the following:

Links to an overview of the Quavers to Quadratics programme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0A3iFyGiKY&t=125s

https://www.nch.ie/news/national-concert-hall-invites-schools-to-participate-in-music-and-
science-workshops-quavers-to-quadratics-this-june/

Link to the primary curriculum framework

https://ncca.ie/en/updates-and-events/latest-news/2023/may/the-primary-curriculum-framework

Research articles on aspects of the Quavers to Quadratics programme

Bergin, Kerin & Flegg Quavers to Quadratics – An Interdisciplinary Science & Music (
Scheduled for publication Spring 2025). See attached

Kerin, M., & Murphy, C. (2018). Equal Temperament: Coteaching as a Mechanism for
Musician–Teacher Collaboration. In Musician-Teacher Collaborations (pp. 217-230). Routledge.

Nilsson, M. H. Z., & Kerin, M. (2022). Interdisciplinary co-teaching in higher education:

Comparing results from music-drama and music-physics partnerships in Sweden and
Ireland. Nordic Research in Music Education, 3, 75-91.

An interesting journal article on informal learning in various spaces

Rogoff, B., Callanan, M., Gutiérrez, K. D., & Erickson, F. (2016). The organization of informal
learning. Review of Research in education, 40(1), 356-401.

Provocations
Some questions to consider ahead of this presentation

• Which other community partnership might you, as a teacher, initiate?

• How might this new partnership enhance opportunities for teaching and learning? (How
would you defend your decision to engage in such a partnership?
• What steps might you take to establish this partnership?
• What structure(s) might need to be put in place?
• How might you contribute to such a partnership (what knowledge, skills, expertise, and
experience might you offer)?
• How might you evaluate the impact of this partnership?

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